The
ribbon-cutting celebration will include the raising of the U.S. and
Canadian flags, singing of both national anthems by the binational Sweet
Adelines choir, Native American drummers, comments from dignitaries,
unveiling of the plaza dedication plaque, and project tours. The public
open house will also include project tours.
The
new administration building and seven toll lanes replaced the
53-year-old building and five toll lanes built in 1962 as part of the
original bridge project. The new plaza will improve customer safety by
providing more southbound traffic merge space between the U.S. Customs
and Border Protection inspection booths and bridge toll booths. The
project also provides a dedicated customer service area and parking.
"The
journey to this celebration began seven years ago when we commissioned
the initial study to identify the project scope and cost," said Peter
Petainen, International Bridge Administration (IBA) chief financial
officer. "From that, we put in place the plan to fund the project from
our financial reserves and the project came in on budget and on time."
In
conjunction with the project, the IBA also implemented a new toll
software computer system. Installation of the system software and
hardware was coordinated with the construction to minimize customer
inconvenience. The new system replaced a 15-year-old computer system
that no longer had programming support. To mark the celebration, the IBA
will be rolling out the last of the customer service features supported
by the new system. Beginning Oct. 21, customer access to online
accounts, automatic account replenishment via credit card, and credit
card usage in the office will be available.
"This
has been a very successful project despite its complexity in terms of
maintaining toll traffic and bridge operations," said Karl Hansen,
bridge engineer. "The project construction team consisting of Devere
Construction and Northwest Design Group did a great job helping us
minimize the impact on our customers."
The
Sault Ste. Marie Bridge Authority Board will meet in the board room of
the new facility for their quarterly meeting Oct. 22 to coincide with
the celebration.
"The
public open house is to express our gratitude to our customers for
their patience and understanding during this project and the transition
from the old toll system and booths to the new ones," said Phil Becker,
IBA general manager. "Our toll staff did an excellent job providing
exceptional customer service throughout."
The
operation and maintenance of the International Bridge is totally
self-funded, primarily through bridge tolls. It is not subsidized by any
state, provincial or federal government entity. For a complete list of
International Bridge tolls, visit the IBA website at www.michigan.gov/IBA.
For more information on the International Bridge, please visit www.saultbridge.com or follow us on Twitter at www.twitter.com/saultbridge.
